The following words come from an article taken from a Belgium Encyclopedia.
It has been regretted that Saint-Georges had not given a more solid direction to the talents with which he had been endowed by nature. He would have been able to play another role in the world, and yield recommendable to the less frivolous titles than those he had obtained. One eulogy we cannot refuse him, is his impartiality and benevolence. He deprived himself to relieve the unfortunate; and several needy old men were his boarders, as long as his faculties permitted him. He should be especially praised for never having taken undue advantage of his incomparable superiority in fencing.
The Larousse Grand Universal Dictionary paid this tribute:
Let us repeat in finishing that the Chevalier de Saint-Georges distinguishes himself among the personage of his time, selfish and mischievous for the most part, by a generosity and a strength of character very rare. Until the end of his days he helped the poor and even had his special poor, that he supported completely.
R. Duchaussoy in his article Un Guadeloupéen Extraordinaire said:
He left the memory of a man full of distinction, of a goodness going so far as to almost weakness, his character a little soft and in which his only ambition had been to love and to make himself loved.
E. M. von Arndt, the German poet who knew Saint- Georges very well wrote:
St.-Georges, the great George, died a few days after my arrival in Paris. St.-Georges, the representative of the French nation.....St. Georges was dead and so great was public interest that the news made people forget the battles of Verona and Stochart. All the day, they talked about nothing else but that. In all the theatres, promenades, cafes and gardens resounded the name of the great, the amiable St.-Georges. In the streets, they stopped to exchange the news. For three days, four days, his name echoed in all the newspapers. They lauded his skill in all the arts, his fine manner, his force, his generosity and gaiety, and generally concluded with these words:" 'He was the perfect Frenchman, that is to say, the most amiable of mortals. He was the Voltaire of equitation, music, dancing and skill in the use of weapons.'
In truth, St.-Georges is an astonishing figure in the eyes of a German, whose education is so silly that he considers skill in bodily exercises as one of the little supplementary things of life. St.- Georges was the handsomest, the strongest and the most agreeable man of his times. He was a fateful friend, a good citizen, a man of society, full of so many charms and virtues that any single one of them would have caused us to mourn his death. He was the Alciabides of his time, he loved pleasure, but never abused it. Oh! such marvelous gifts merit immortality and a people with a keen and ever ready recognition of beauty as the French, will admire him eternally.
Allan Bradley said: "There were certainly greater composers than Saint-Georges during the late 18th century but none who possessed anywhere near his remarkable range of talents, his exotic persona and fascinating personality. He was a man."
And finally his countryman and biographer Odet Denys.
In his honor, let us remember that the fever of pleasures did not succeed in drying up his heart; his glory did not make him lose his mind and spirit. The noise of the cymbals did not prevent him from hearing the gentle voice of his soul. He kept until his last breath a simple and good nature.
He was horrified at the idea of hurting someone when the lively character which is considered a part of people from the island had for a moment won over his usual affability, then right away he regretted having acted that way and tried in a thousand ways to erase his wrong doings. It was especially remarkable when he became ill; he deprived himself to be able to continue to help them. He helped them until he had completely used up his own means, until he used up his own strength.
Postlude
I hope I have succeeded in giving an accurate and as penetrating view of the life of Saint-Georges as is possible with what may seem to be much information but is in fact very little, especially about certain periods of his life and more definitive information about his amours. It would have been an easy matter if Saint-Georges had written his memoirs which was common for men of his position and social status of that time in history.
His life was so fascinating and his talents so refined and prodigious. The fact that he was black made his life even more incredible and interesting. He was the only black man of his time, except for General Alexandre Dumas, who lived the life of a nobleman and was accepted in the highest places. General Dumas was born in 1762, and as previously stated, was the father of Alexandre Dumas, père, the author of The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and many other classics. Saint-Georges died at the end of what has been called the Revolutionary Period which, ended officially in 1799, the same year of his death. Dumas père lived in a new and different Paris. The social life was still the Parisian life but the country had undergone great changes. It was now the Paris of Napoleon Bonaparte and his lovely wife, Josephine.
Saint-Georges was almost forgotten in history, except for Roger de Beauvoir's book in 1740, and Odet Denys' book in 1972. Strangely, with all the material available now on Saint-Georges' life, Denys' book is never mentioned.
France rediscovered Saint-Georges in the late nineties. A street was named for him in Paris in December of 2001. On March 6, 2003, CBC television, "Opening Night," in Paris, presented a TV documentary entitled, "Le Mozart Noir: Reviving a Legend." Also, there is a bust of Saint-Georges in Guadeloupe, his birthplace. When I visited Guadeloupe twenty years ago, hardly anyone had heard of him. CD's of most of his compositions can now be purchased on line from France.
The plaque over the street in Paris honoring Saint-Georges
The bust of Saint-Georges in Guadeloupe
Bibliography
Angelo's Pic-Nic or Table Talk, Illustrated by G. Cruikshank, London 1834
Angelo: The Reminiscences of Henry Angelo, Paris1830
Arndt, E.M. Von Bruchstücke einer durch Frankreich im Fruhling und Sommer, Vol. II,
Beauvoir, Roger de: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, 1840 Paris, H.L. Delloye
Bénéfices d'inventaires, Paris 1775
Brook, Barry S.: La Symphonie Française dans la seconde moité du XVIIIe siècle
Bernard Miall: Pierre Garat, Singer and Exquisite, His life and his World, 1762-1823 London, 1913
Bradley, Alan: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1748-1799)
C.L.R. James: The Black Jacobins. Vintage Books. 1963 Alfred A. Knoff, Inc. and Random House, Inc.
Daressy: Archives des Maîtres d'Armes de Paris, 1888
Distinguished Negroes Abroad
Encyclopedia Larousse du Xxe Siècle Vol. 6
Early Negro Musicians, n.d. n.p.
Bourgeois, Gaston: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Inexactitudes Commises par See biographies. 1949 Paris n.p.
Gossec, F. S D'Anvers, Paris 1764
Grétry: Mémoires, ou Essai sur la Musique
Grimm, Diderot, Raynal, Meister et autres: Correspondence littéraire, philosophique et critique, Vols. 11, 12, 15 Paris 1776 n.p.
J.A. Rogers: World's Great Men of Color, Vol. II. published 1947, renewed 1925
J. Buchan Telfer: The Chevalier d'Eon de Beaumont, published 1885, Paris
La Boëssière: Traité de l'art des armes, Paris 1818
Larousse: Grand Dictionnaire Universel du 19e siècle, Vol. 14, Paris 1875
Thiébault, Paul-Charles François: Mémoires 1816 n.p.
Lewis Wade Jones: Nuggets from World History, copyright, 1933, Chevalier de Saint-Georges
Lionel de La Laurencie: Musical Quarterly (Schirmer's) Boston n.d. n.p.
The Chevalier de Saint-Georges, violinist, January, 1919, Boston. n.p.
Louis Dufrane: Gossec, Sa Vie, Ses Oeuvres, Paris
M. Gaston-Leon Bourgeois: Un Enfant Célèbre de la Guadeloupe, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Marjorie Cor
ny: The Chevalière d'Eon, London, 1932
Mémoires du Général de Marbot, Paris
Mémoires de Bachaument
Le Mercure de France, April, 1772
Michaud, Biographie Universelle (see "St. Georges")
Michaud: Biographie Universelle (see "Saint-Georges"). Paris
Odet Denys: Qui était Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges. (1739-1799)? Paris 1972
M. de la Fontelle: La vie militaire, politique et privée
Omnibus of French Literature, Vol. 1-Steinhaven and Walter.
Pierre Groslande: L'Université Française (Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges).
Pincherle, Marc: Jean-Marie Leclair, L'ainé
Prud'homme: Jacques Gabriel François: Joseph Gossec, 1734 la vie, les oeuvres, l'homme et l'artiste
R. Duchaussoy: Un Guadeloupéen Extraordinaire, Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
About The Author
Walter Smith was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, where he attended North Carolina Central University, majoring in French. There, he was a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. After graduation, he moved to New York City. He taught French and Spanish in the NYC Public Schools for several years. Later he attended graduate school at Laval University, in Quebec, Canada.
Having written a few short stories, he moved to Los Angeles to try writing for television. After only nine months, he was fortunate enough to land an assignment to write an episode of the popular TV show, Good Times. Over the next few years, he wrote a story for the sit-com, Different Strokes, which was nominated for the Humanitas Award, and later, a story for Magnum P.I. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America and currently teaches high school French in Lynwood, California.
Endnotes
1 Beauvoir, Roger de- Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges Paris, 1840 H.L. Delloye 2nd Ed. n.p.
2 Grosclaude, Pierre- L'Université Française, No. 65 September and October-Paris, 1972
3 James, C.L.R.---The Black Jacobins, Random House, Inc. 1963 p.16
4 Beauvoir, Roger de
5 Bourgeois, Gaston n.p.
6 Bradley, Allan: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1748-1799)
1 blade up and to the inside, wrist supinated
2 en garde: the stance that fencers assume when preparing to fence
3 obsolete
4 a defensive action made by deflecting the opponent's attack
5 Time interval during which the response can be effected by retaining its priority.
6 when a stop hit arrives at least one fencing time before the original attack
7 an attack made immediately after a party of the opponent's attack
1 La Bössière: Traité de l' Art des Armes, Paris 1818 pp. 56-59
2 Gaston, Bourgeois: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Inexactitudes Commises Par Ses Biographes 1949 Paris n.p.
3 Denys, Odet
4 Bachaumont, May 1, 1977 Vol. XIV pp. 42-45
5 Angelo, Henry: Angelo's Pic-Nick of Table Talk London, 1834 pp. 21-25
6 James, C.L.R.
7 Rogers, J.A. World's Great Men of Color Vol. II
8 Beauvoir, Jean de: Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, 2 vols Paris 1890
9 Angelo: The Reminiscences of Henry Angelo, pp. 398-399 Paris 1830
10 Faldoni, Guiseppe: Mémoires n.p. n.d.
11 Thiébault-Paul-Charles Francois; Mémoires 1816 n.p.
12 Thiébault+Paul-Charles Francois: Mémoires n.d. n.p.
1 Pincherele, Marc: Jean-Marie LeClair, L'ainé p. 117 Paris n.d.
2 Gossec, F.J. d'Anvers: Paris 1766 n.p.
3 Le Mercure de France, Avril, 1772 pp. 202-203
4 Grimm, Diderot, Raynal, Meister et autres: Correspondence littéraire, philosophique et critique, Vols. 11, 12, 15
5 Ibid.
6 Beauvoir, Roger de
7 Le Mercure de France, Août 1785
8 Miall, Bernard: Pierre Garat, Singer and Exquisite, His Life and his World, 1762-1823 London 1913 pp. 95-97
9 Grimm, Diderot, Raynal, Meister et Autres:
10 Grétry: Mémoires ou Essai sur la Musique, Paris n.d. pp. 74-75
11 Ibid.
1 Fortelle, M. de la: La vie militaire, politique et Privée de demoiselle d 'Eon, Paris 1811
2 Corny, Marjorie: The Chevalière d'Eon. London 1932
3 Unknown
4 "Gent Mag." Obituary Notice of the Chevalière D'Eon, June 1810
5 Telfer, J. Buchan: The Chevalière D'Eon De Beaumont, published 1885, Paris
6 Unknown
7 Denys, Odet, Qui était Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Paris 1972
8 Angelo, Henry The Reminiscences of Henry Angelo, Vol. II Paris 1830
9 National Archives of Paris 1789-1799
10 Angelo, Henry...Reminiscences...Vol. II pp. 308, 309
11 Angelo, Henry...Reminiscences...pp. 398, 421
12 Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire Universel du 19e Siècle, Vol. XIV, Paris 1875, pp. 68, 69
13 Angelo, Henry Angelo's Picnic or table talk, pp 21-25, London, John Ebers 1834
14 Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire Universel du 19e Siècle, Vol. XIV, Paris
All letters in this chapter are in the National Archives of Paris, 1789-1799.
1 Denys, Odet Qui était Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges n.p.
1 Ventôse -- 6th month in the French Revolutionary Calendar (from Feb 20th to March 21st)
2 Brumaire -- 2nd month of the French Revolutionary Calendar (from Oct 23rd to Nov 21st)
3 Germinal -- 7th month of the French Revolutionary Calendar (From March 22nd to April 22nd)
4 Thermidor -- 11th month of the French Revolutionary Calendar (From July 19th to Aug 17th)
5 Vendemiaire -- First month in the French Revolutionary Calendar (from Sept 22nd/23rd/24th to Oct 21st/22nd/23rd)
6 Thermidorien -- Revolutionaries of the 9th Thermidor.
1 James, C.L.R. p.11
2 Ibid. p.12
3 Ibid. p.19
4 Ibid. p.32
5 Ibid. p.81
6 Ibid. p.164
7 Ibid. p.165
8 Ibid. p.181
1 Deny's Odet.
2 unknown
3 Lionel De La Laurencie: Musical Quarterly n.p.
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